Okay, we’ve got it: The Academy Awards are like Hollywood’s fairy-tale wedding. And the Golden Globes? Well, they’re like the family bar mitzvah. Think about it: a glitzy sit-down dinner, buckets of weepy sentimentality, and, for many TV and film stars, an official coming-of-age. Among the celebs who reached award adulthood at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 56th-annual big night: The Truman Show’s Jim Carrey, who provided the night’s biggest jaw dropper by scoring Best Actor in a drama over Tom Hanks; The Practice’s Dylan McDermott and Felicity’s Keri Russell, who both walked away with their first notable career awards; and Gwyneth Paltrow, named Best Actress in a Comedy for Shakespeare in Love.

Then let’s change the subject…to the Oscars. Though the Globes are widely considered a glamorous party with a few trophies sprinkled in, their Oscar foreshadowing is undeniable (five of last year’s six big Oscar winners won Globes). Carrey even thanked ”the Academy” in his joshing acceptance speech. ”They have to have some influence,” said presenter George Lucas. ”All the Oscar voters watch the Globes.”

If that’s the case, then Shakespeare and Truman, which have been taking an awards backseat to Saving Private Ryan, would earn the biggest boost from the night, having racked up three prizes each. (In addition, both John Madden and Peter Weir received Directors Guild nods.) Nudged Weinstein, who produced Shakespeare, ”I’d never make a statement like ‘It’s a real race now,’ would I?” You just did, Harvey.

Still, not everyone was counting his Oscar noms come evening’s end. Carrey’s win ”puts [our] movie in a position where it has to be considered,” says Arthur Cohen, marketing president at Paramount, the studio behind Truman. ”But it doesn’t mean that the Academy members can’t choose entirely differently.” One sign that he may be right: Carrey and Michael Caine, Best Actor in a Comedy for Little Voice, both failed to receive Screen Actors Guild nominations, which, like the Oscars, are voted on by industry actors.

If nothing else, the Globes’ guests of honor will at least enjoy their contact high until next year’s rite of passage: As Best Actress in a Drama Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) noted just after her victory, ”I’ve been hugged more in the last 4 1/2 minutes than I have in the whole of my lifetime.”